Film Details

The Life of Oharu

Saikaku Ichidai Onna
Japan | 1952 | Kenji Mizoguchi

We begin our Mizoguchi retrospective with the film that the director himself regarded as his masterpiece. It’s a beautifully photographed period piece that charts the step-by-step downfall of a 17th-century woman (Kinuyo Tanaka, Mizoguchi’s favorite actress) from court woman to common prostitute. With Toshiro Mifune. “Perhaps the finest film made in any country about the oppression of women.” –Joan Mellen.

136 min. 35mm. Subtitles.

Special admission $10; members, CIA I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under $8; no passes, twofers, or radio winners.